This publication presents government finance statistics (GFS) on an accrual accounting basis for each jurisdiction for general government, non-financial public sector and total public sector as follows:

Operating statements for 2002-03;

Cash flow statements for 2002-03; and

Balance sheets at 30 June 2003.

Also included in this publication are total general government expenses by purpose for 2002-03.

The Public Finance Section of the ABS is currently reviewing the content and layout of this publication and its two related publications Taxation Revenue, Australia (Cat. no. 5506.0) and Education Statistics (Cat. no. 5518.0.55.001) and welcomes feedback from users. Comments can be provided to Jonathan Sim, Assistant Director, Public Finance Section on (02) 6252 5735 or email <jonathan.sim@abs.gov.au>.

Users interested in more recent quaterly GFS data should consult Government Finance Statistics, Australia, Quarterly (Cat. no. 5519.0.55.001), which was released for the first time on 17 March 2004.

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

This issue contains data for general government, non-financial public sector and total public sector. Due to space constraints, tables relating to public non-financial corporations and public financial corporations are not included. The data for the public non-financial corporation and public financial corporation sectors can be accessed from AusStats (at www.abs.gov.au).

While every attempt is made to use audited data in the compilation of this publication, audited 2002-03 Western Australia state government data were unavailable in time for the compilation of this publication. With the agreement of Western Australia Treasury, unaudited data was used for this publication.

TERMINOLOGY

Within government finance statistics (GFS), the consolidated total of transactions of the general government, public non-financial corporations and public financial corporations sectors is referred to as the total public sector.

Wherever the term 'state' is used, this term includes the two territories. Therefore 'state and local' refers to 'state, territory and local' and 'state' refers to 'state and territory'.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

ACCRUAL OPERATING RESULTS

The GFS net operating balance for all levels of government in 2002-03 was $11,467 million and $12,736 million for the general government sector and total public sector respectively. In the same year, GFS net lending was $8,425 million and $7,100 million for the two sectors respectively.

The following table shows these two measures and other GFS operating statement major aggregates across the various levels of government by sector in 2002-03.

OPERATING RESULTS-2002-03

General
Government

Non-
financial
Public
Sector

Total
Public
Sector

$m

$m

$m

All levels of government

GFS Revenue

286,586

328,540

336,296

GFS Expenses

275,120

314,835

323,560

GFS Net Operating Balance

11,467

13,705

12,736

Net acquisition of non-financial assets

3,042

5,589

5,636

GFS Net Lending(+)/Borrowing(-)

8,425

8,116

7,100

Commonwealth Government

GFS Revenue

206,189

225,877

227,713

GFS Expenses

199,978

218,214

220,606

GFS Net Operating Balance

6,212

7,663

7,107

Net acquisition of non-financial assets

-219

-755

-743

GFS Net Lending(+)/Borrowing(-)

6,430

8,418

7,850

State and local governments

GFS Revenue

129,911

151,952

157,910

GFS Expenses

124,149

145,553

151,915

GFS Net Operating Balance

5,762

6,399

5,995

Net acquisition of non-financial assets

3,117

6,224

6,259

GFS Net Lending(+)/Borrowing(-)

2,646

175

-264

Multi-jurisdictional(a)

GFS Revenue

11,651

12,036

12,036

GFS Expenses

11,376

11,630

11,630

GFS Net Operating Balance

275

406

406

Net acquisition of non-financial assets

144

120

120

GFS Net Lending(+)/Borrowing(-)

131

286

286

(a) The multi-jurisdictional sector contains units where jurisdiction is shared between two or more governments, or classification of a unit to a jurisdiction is otherwise unclear. The main type of units currently falling into this category are the public universities.

CASH OPERATING RESULTS

In 2002-03 the general government sector and total public sector, for all levels of government, recorded surpluses of $11,134 million and $11,464 million respectively.

The following table presents the surplus/deficit results for each jurisdiction for 2002-03 for general government, the non-financial public sector and the total public sector.

CASH OPERATING RESULTS-2002-03

General Government

Non-financial Public Sector

Total Public Sector

$m

$m

$m

SURPLUS(+)/DEFICIT(-)

Commonwealth government

7,404

8,504

7,932

State and local governments

New South Wales

2,309

1,978

2,149

Victoria

-177

-689

141

Queensland

1,070

311

760

South Australia

612

587

351

Western Australia

325

-27

107

Tasmania

303

297

409

Northern Territory

-50

-10

22

Australian Capital Territory

254

289

289

Total

4,635

2,732

4,228

Multi-jurisdictional(a)

205

403

403

Total

11,134

10,534

11,464

(a) The multi-jurisdictional sector contains units where jurisdiction is shared between two or more governments, or classification of a unit to a jurisdiction is otherwise unclear. The main type of units currently falling into this category are public universities.

BALANCE SHEET RESULTS

GFS net worth reflects the contribution of governments to the wealth of Australia. The consolidated net worth as at 30 June 2003 for the general government sector for all levels of government was $444,790 million. The consolidated net worth for the total public sector was $402,279 million.

The following table presents selected balance sheet aggregates for the general government, the non-financial public sector and the total public sectors as at 30 June 2003 across the various levels of government.

BALANCE SHEET RESULTS-AT 30 JUNE 2003

General
Government

Non-financial Public Sector

Total
Public
Sector

$m

$m

$m

All levels of Australian government

Total assets

764,530

821,305

917,872

Total liabilities

319,741

389,526

486,334

Shares and other contributed capital

-

29,501

29,259

GFS Net worth

444,790

402,279

402,279

Commonwealth government

Total assets

146,104

151,755

199,855

Total liabilities

192,410

212,016

260,356

Shares and other contributed capital

-

28,685

28,445

GFS Net worth

-46,307

-88,945

-88,945

State and local governments

Total assets

596,814

646,492

699,780

Total liabilities

128,280

177,950

231,239

GFS Net worth

468,534

468,543

468,543

Multi-jurisdictional(a)

Total assets

28,817

30,484

30,484

Total liabilities

6,255

6,987

6,987

GFS Net worth

22,563

22,681

22,681

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

(a) The multi-jurisdictional sector contains units where jurisdiction is shared between two or more governments, or classification of a unit to a jurisdiction is otherwise unclear. The main type of units currently falling into this category are public universities.

The following graph shows the total public sector GFS net worth as at 30 June 2003 as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) for the Commonwealth and individual state and local jurisdictions.

GFS NET WORTH AS A PERCENTAGE OF GDP

EXPENSES BY PURPOSE

The following table shows general government expenses by selected purpose categories by level of government for 2002-03.

EXPENSES BY SELECTED PURPOSES-2002-03

All levels of government

Commonwealth government

State and
local
governments

Multi-
jurisdictional(a)

$m

$m

$m

$m

Social security and welfare

77,376

71,262

7,882

-

Health

47,597

29,400

26,963

-

Education

41,004

12,109

29,095

11,194

General public services

16,406

10,736

6,571

142

Public debt transactions(b)

15,821

10,300

5,696

39

Transport and communications

15,438

2,174

14,552

-

Defence

13,307

13,307

-

-

Public order and safety

13,095

1,966

11,215

-

Housing and community amenities

9,228

1,769

8,553

-

Other economic affairs

7,085

3,801

3,300

-

Recreation and culture

7,281

2,059

5,258

-

Agriculture, forestry and fishing

4,138

1,771

2,540

-

Fuel and energy

4,298

3,395

935

-

Mining, manufacturing and construction

2,156

1,502

655

-

Other

888

34,429

934

-

Total

275,120

199,978

124,149

11,376

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

(a) The multi-jurisdictional sector contains units where jurisdiction is shared between two or more governments, or classification of a unit to a jurisdiction is otherwise unclear. The main type of units currently falling into this category are the public universities.

(b) Includes nominal interest on superannuation.

The following graph shows the main general government expenses by purpose for all Australian governments for 2002-03 as a percentage of GDP.